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Making a positive contribution by volunteering
Making a positive contribution by volunteering
Making a positive contribution by volunteering
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D. Leisure-Time Activities
What is the most stimulating book or article (other than those for school assignments) you have read in the last six months? Why did you find it stimulating?
The most stimulating book that I have read was Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd. This novel is a coming of age story focusing on a younger girl named Lily. She deals with many trials and tribulations throughout the book which causes her to learn more about herself. Like, Lily, I have dealt with many things in my life that have made me feel worthless and unimportant. However, with the love and support of those around me, I have learned how to love myself more. Secret Life of Bees spoke to me since I felt like I related to the main character, for example,
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There is a difference between running at practice/meet and running for fun. There is no pressure to run out someone; it is just me and the outdoors. The wind is blowing through my hair, and the sun is beating down upon my face, it is very soothing. I will run in my neighborhood, or I will drive to a local park. Changing up the scenery is a great way to make my long runs more attractive. Especially in autumn, when the leaves are starting to change it is quite beautiful. While running, it is like I am escaping reality and for that moment in time, nothing else matters. Sometimes it is hard to take time for myself, but I would not change my life. My classes might be stressful, but I love challenging myself. It is not fun taking the easy way out. If I did not do track, take on a big class load and work then I would have too much time on my hands. I wouldn't know what to do with myself. Also, the relaxation and the time my friends and I spend together would not be as special because it would be an everyday thing. But when I finally get a chance to a take a breather it feels so good to take time for …show more content…
Since I was in the first grade, I have been a part of the Girl Scouts, which has caused me to make a positive difference in my community. Participating in Girl Scouts has enabled me to engage in many fundraisers and charity events. While I was a part of scouting every year around Christmas time my troop and I would set up an event feeding the homeless at a local church. Serving and talking to different men and women caused me to reflect on my life and made me realize that I should be more grateful for what I have. My life is not as hard as others, and it is nice to give back to those who deserve
The Quest Pattern theory states that during adolescence a youth is looking for their identity. This individual will look for a place where they are accepted. The quest fits a loose pattern; the first step is determined by fate, destiney provides a troubling situation before the individual can embark on their journey. Then the initial change happens, or the event that sets the quest in motion. Next is the unchartered territory, in this stage the real adventure happens; a person can geographically venture into new territory, or an experience an emotional journey somewhere outside of their comfort zone. Next, is the required learned knowledge; this is the information that the individual learns about his or her self in order to reach self-acceptance. There is the journey home, which is a quest within itself, but also a stage where more knowledge is gained. Lastly the reward, it is the happiness that occurs from the knowledge that the individual has gained; this stage is also known as finding the meaning of life. The Quest Pattern is a journey of personal evolution that every antagonist can relate to.
Home in The Secret Life of Bees Sonsyrea Tate’s statement about “home” aligns with Sue Monk Kidd’s novel, The Secret Life of Bees. In this novel, the main character, Lily Owens, embarks on a Bildungsroman journey after leaving her birth home to find her true identity and “home.” The idea of “home” guides Lily on a path of self-discovery and leads her to the pink house and the feminine society that lies within, in which she finds true empowerment and womanhood in her life. “Home” plays an important role in Lily’s journey throughout the novel. Lily feels lost and alone at the Peach House with T. Ray because of his continuous physical and mental abuse.
“I’d been kneeling on grits since I was six, but still I never got used to that powdered-glass feeling beneath my skin,” (Kidd 24). In The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, Lily Owens has a difficult childhood living with her ruthless father on a peach farm in South Carolina. Additionally, Lily has never escaped her terrifying past that she experienced when she was a little girl, the experience of killing her mother. Thus, throughout her life Lily’s only mother figure has been a fearless colored woman named Rosaleen. Eventually trouble arises, and Lily and Rosaleen flee to Tiburon, South Carolina, a city on the back of Lily's mom’s things, in search of a loving family. In Tiburon, they were unexpectedly accepted in by the Boatwright sisters, who are colored beekeepers. After losing her mother, internal remorse, dishonesty, and remission will allow Lily to see what she is missing most in her life. In The Secret Life of Bees, the symbols Tiburon, Mary , and the Queen Bee allows the reader to discover the theme of finding love in unexpected places with unexpected people.
Classics explore aspects of human identity and reveal how people struggle with mistakes and pain, how people realize their own childishness, and how to learn from mistakes. The Secret Life of Bees, set in the American South in 1964 amid racial unrest, tells story of Lily Owens, a white 14-year-old girl who is searching for the truth about her deceased mother. She lives on a peach farm with her cruel and abusive father, T. Ray, who tells Lily that she accidentally shot her mother, Deborah, when she was four. Lily accompanies the family’s black housekeeper, Rosaleen, to town to register to vote. Taunted by white men, she spills the contents of her snuff jar on their feet, is beaten, taken to jail,
In the novel “The Secret Life of Bees”, which is surprisingly not an informative book talking about bees, the main character Lily Owens is set out to be the victim because of her parents. The novel first tells the reader that Lily accidently kills her mother when she was a toddler, and goes on to explaining how her father, whom she calls T-Ray, is an abusive man. He punishes Lily very often in many ways, like making her kneel in grits and speaking to her in an offensive manner. We later find out that Lily’s mother, Deborah, suffers from depression, partly because of the dominance coming from T-Ray, and learn the harsh truth of her leaving Lily. The author, Sue Monk Kidd, gives the vision of T-Ray being a bad father and Deborah being an ethical
The novel, The Secret Life of Bees, is set in the 1960s, a period full of historical movements and beautiful literature. The civil rights movement is a great example of one of the major things that influenced this novel. The novel is also filled with many themes and symbols that give deeper meaning to the story. Sue Monk Kidd eloquently weaves different themes of loss, equality, and love throughout the story. In the novel, The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd uses themes of loss, equality, and love, to argue that all people deserve their best chance.
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is a realistic fiction novel that tells the story of Lily Owens, a 14 year old girl living in South Carolina, in 1964 with her father; T. Raye, and her housekeeper, Rosaleen. Lily and Rosalyn get into an argument with a couple white men. Rosaleen pours her chew on one of the white men because of their obscure comments. Times being how they were in 1964 Rosaleen was put in jail for spitting on a white man. Lily decides she needs to break Rosaleen out. I will present to you the main character’s personality, the main idea of this novel, and how I personally related to the main character.
At the beginning of each chapter, there is an epigraph. The epigraph connects to an event or theme that happens during that chapter. For example, before chapter 6, it says, “The queen must produce some substance that attracts the workers” (102). In this chapter, the queen is referencing the statue Mary, who holds the black community together through her strength and protection. After the statue was placed in the praise house, each person would go up to her, touch her heart, and feel strong. As a result, many of the bold slaves fled, and others received support from her. Because of Mary offering this bravery and strength, the slaves would praise her each day, staying close to her. Before chapter 7, the epigraph is “How did bees ever become equated with sex?
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is the story of a fourteen-year-old girl named Lily, who runs away from her abusive father with her housekeeper to the town that her late mother had once been to. There, she meets August and the Boatwright sisters, who live in a bright pink house and own a bee farm. These women teach her all about life through bees and the black Mary statue that is kept in their house. Lily comes from a rough situation, surrounded by negativity, but the sisters take her in and teach her what family and love is. Although living in a world where, for her, love is scarce, Lily is able to learn from the all negatives in her life, which then turn into positives, and Lily is a better person because of what she learned.
The setting in the Secret life of bees helps set the overall structure of the book. As the setting changes, and certain events take place, so does the characters views on life. The most change seen is on Lily, the main character. Her values multiply and her perspective on cultural order shifts from one mind set to another. Although one part of the book’s setting limits the opportunities of the characters; the other part opens those and different opportunities. The setting in The Secret Life of Bees is vitally important because it impacts the main character and the people around her through events that transpire in the book.
One story that I significantly enjoyed reading was about Kent, an individual that suffers/has/is labeled as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). ADHD is more prevalent than ever in the schools and is a hot topic with educators and parents. I can even relate to it on a personal level because one of the boys I nanny for is now in the first grade, and
I always tell people they have to read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The first page was so beautiful that I actually had to put it down and back away from it. I also love The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.
Before, I loathed reading and still do sometimes. Comprehension was something I greatly struggled with throughout school which used to deter me away from reading until I learned strategies to help. There is nothing I hate more than reading something I don’t care too like class assigned reading. Last year I was given as assigned book to read called Wild by Cheryl Strayed, and I was happy that I was forced to read it. The book was a true story about the authors own journey through the Pacific Crest Trail which
As people, we naturally “size people up,” or rather determine their value and treat them
I can also make a difference in the community where I live. Last year my class held a car wash to raise money for the Animal Shelter. We went to visit the dogs there and I realized that the money we raised made a difference for some of them.